1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pressurized fluid dispenser with members for locking it in its lowered position.
2. Discussion of Background
Pumps for delivering fluids (liquids or creamy substances) under pressure are of many different types and are of widespread common use. The fluid pumped by them passes through a dispenser mounted on the head of the pump, to be expelled to the outside.
As the pump plus dispenser occupies a relatively large space in its length direction, with obvious drawbacks deriving therefrom, various systems have been devised and used for locking the dispenser in its lowered position on the relative pump for storage, packaging and transport purposes, and to prevent fluid ejection if the dispenser is accidentally pressed towards the pump on which it is mounted.
This is achieved in the known art by providing engagement members between the dispenser and a ring cap which is fixed relative to the main pump body. To achieve engagement, the dispenser is lowered onto the ring cap and is then rotated relative to it, to hence achieve a stable locking position. This means that the dispenser can be moved into the engagement position only if it is in a precisely defined position relative to the ring cap. This operation is annoying enough when done manually by the pump user (before lowering and rotating the dispenser he has to correctly position it on the ring cap fixed to the mouth of the bottle on which the pump is mounted), but when done mechanically at high speed before the pump plus dispenser is put onto the market it creates very serious problems.
As the pump complete with its ring cap and dispenser is often sold already in the locked state by the producer company, the firm which purchases and uses the pump, and which has to mount and fix it onto bottles or the like containing the fluid to be dispensed, has not only the problem of mechanically gripping the ring cap plus dispenser, which are locked together in a rigid position (in particular if the dispenser is for creams or the like, ie is provided with a laterally projecting elongate spout), but also, and in particular, the serious problem of mounting the ring cap in a well defined position on the bottle with the dispenser locked but orientated in the correct direction relative to the body of the bottle when this is of irregular shape. For example, if the bottle is flat and the dispenser has to dispense liquid soap or a cream through the elongate spout, the pump must be fixed on the bottle mouth with said spout locked but pointing in the direction of the maximum bottle width (to allow easy storage and boxing), this being certainly not simple to achieve when operating with high speed automatic machines.